Drunk-driving panel to target student drivers

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Drinking and driving will be the focus of monthly classes at South Whidbey High School.

Beginning in March 2007 through February 2008, Impaired Driving Impact Panel of Island County (IDIPIC) will offer classes to students, their parents, drunk-driving offenders, and the general public.

Impaired drivers are the leading cause of traffic accidents in Washington, according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. And so far this year, the Washington State Patrol reports 10 people have died in car accidents from Sharps Corner on Fidalgo Island to the Clinton ferry dock on Whidbey Island.

State Patrol statistics say drugs or alcohol were involved in four of those fatalities.

IDIPIC, a nonprofit organization based in Oak Harbor, works toward reducing those numbers through public education.

Director JoAnn Hellmann said IDIPIC will be offering a two-hour monthly sessions on Saturdays to provide information about driving under the influence and underage drinking to students.

“Though the numbers of DUIs have increased statewide, IDIPIC seems to be making an impact in Island County,” Hellmann said.

“Of the nearly 1,500 offenders who have attended the program in its six years, only two have been re-arrested for a DUI offense,” she said.

The most popular aspect of the IDIPIC presentations is when volunteers “walk the line” with “Fatal Vision” goggles, a mock field sobriety test.

“In the structured setting with a no-nonsense instructor who talks about indicators of impairment and explains what is happening, the students get the gist that this is much more than fun and games,” Hellmann said.

“Parents especially appreciate the classes for their new drivers and remark how they wish such a program was around when they took driver’s education,” she added.

Since its formation, IDIPIC has made presentations to nearly 5,000 people. It targets people arrested for DUI, minors charged with possession, and reckless driving where drugs or alcohol were involved.

The schedule for the 2007 South Whidbey classes will be set by the end of January 2007.

The cost of providing panels, approximately $3,600, will be covered by the organization via its panel user fees, grants, donations and fundraisers.

IDIPIC focuses on informing people about the full implications and impact to others when they drive under the influence of alcohol, over-the-counter, prescription and herbal medications, or illegal drugs such as marijuana, methamphetamine, Ecstasy and others.

“And since attitudes can be formed very early in life, IDIPIC also provides prevention education to youth on alcohol and other drugs from elementary through high school and beyond,” Hellmann said.

IDIPIC’s third-grade program is called Pickles, or Positive Influences Changing Kids’ Lives in Elementary Schools, and it teaches children about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs.

That program, along with the organization’s middle and high school programs, earned IDIPIC an award for it’s “untiring efforts” in youth drug prevention efforts from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission in 2004.

For more information on the organization or its programs, visit IDIPIC’s Website at www.idipic.org.

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.